A neighbor asked me to drive her two girls to school each day and pick them up at the end of the school day. The drive would take about 10-15 minutes from door to door one way a total of 3.6 miles one way or about 7 miles round trip. I drive a Kia Sportage 6 cylinder which gets about 18.5 miles to the gallon. Gas averages around $3.50 a gallon in my area. What do you think would be a fair price to charge her? Should I charge per day, weekly or monthly? Of course I have to take into account the days that there is no school, like holidays and teacher conference days. Opinions please?

Sorry that I can't offer a dollar amount, but think of the following when determining your fee;

1. Are you doing this as part/favor or is it all business?
2. Are you specifically driving out there for the girls, or would you be driving out there anyway?
3. There is not only gasoline but wear & tear on your vehicle that you may want to consider.
4. Do you have proper insurance on you vehicle to cover any accidents (God forbid)?

As for frequency, I personally would charge on a Weekly basis.

PurpleJedi said:

Sorry that I can't offer a dollar amount, but think of the following when determining your fee;

1. Are you doing this as part/favor or is it all business?
2. Are you specifically driving out there for the girls, or would you be driving out there anyway?
3. There is not only gasoline but wear & tear on your vehicle that you may want to consider.
4. Do you have proper insurance on you vehicle to cover any accidents (God forbid)?

As for frequency, I personally would charge on a Weekly basis.

Thanks, Jedi! Yes, I took into account all of your points, too. I would be doing this as more of a favor although I don't really know the mom that well. Her girls are sweethears. I interact with them almost daily because whenever they see me they greet me enthusiastically with "HI, MISS PAT!" I have given them candy and dollars whenever they have helped me carry my groceries from my car to my house. I'm retired so I don't work so this would be a daily trip I would not ordinarily take as most days I'm home doing whatever I please. I do have adequate insurance.

Shyra said:

PurpleJedi said:

Sorry that I can't offer a dollar amount, but think of the following when determining your fee;

1. Are you doing this as part/favor or is it all business?
2. Are you specifically driving out there for the girls, or would you be driving out there anyway?
3. There is not only gasoline but wear & tear on your vehicle that you may want to consider.
4. Do you have proper insurance on you vehicle to cover any accidents (God forbid)?

As for frequency, I personally would charge on a Weekly basis.

Thanks, Jedi! Yes, I took into account all of your points, too. I would be doing this as more of a favor although I don't really know the mom that well. Her girls are sweethears. I interact with them almost daily because whenever they see me they greet me enthusiastically with "HI, MISS PAT!" I have given them candy and dollars whenever they have helped me carry my groceries from my car to my house. I'm retired so I don't work so this would be a daily trip I would not ordinarily take as most days I'm home doing whatever I please. I do have adequate insurance.

I'm hoping there's an Orger out there with decent Math skills that can help you calculate an adequate mileage/gas rate.

http://www.irs.gov/2014-Standard-Mileage-Rates-for-Business,-Medical-and-Moving-Announced

LINK

56 cents x 7 miles = $3.92

$7.25 minimum wage divided by 60 (minutes) = $0.12

.12 cents a minute x 15 minutes = $1.80

Milage + Labor = $5.72 per round trip.

Daily = $11.44

Weekly = $57.20

Monthly = roughly $228.80

That is using the Federal guidelines. Obviously, you charge what you think you are worth vs how much you are willing to subsidize.

[Edited 8/18/14 7:24am]

Also, something to consider:

Per trip milage = $3.92
Per trip labor = $1.80
Total: $5.72

Daily (two trips) milage = $7.84
Daily (two trips) labor = $3.60

Total: $11.44

Weekly (10 trips) milage = $39.20
Weekly (10 trips) labor = $18.00
Total: $57.20

Monthly (40 trips) milage = $156.80
Monthly (40 trips) labor = $72.00
Total: $228.80


Let's say that you choose to NOT to charge the full Federal recommended amount. That is completely your perogative. Just understand that any discount is going to effect the following categories: immedeate car expenses (gas, insurance), long term car expenses (repair, loss of resell value), and labor.

Consider that the immedate and long term car expenses happen. Eventually, you'll need new tires, new wipers, the car needs to be cleaned out, a check engine light will come on, etc. Some may say "well, that's going to happen anyway," and that is right. However, the Feds take this into account and determine the average costs to accomidate this to the mile. You're dedicating milage to this task that you're looking to be reimbursed for. That's why it's fair to consider the Fed milage rate when determining your price of services.

So really, any discount you offer is going to impact you on the labor side, logically. Let's say you offer to do the job for $150 for a month (40 trips). As you can see, you're not even covering the projected milage reimbursement. You've completely donated your time (10 hours), and you're short on the milage side by 6.80.

Hopefully, you all can work something out. Sometimes, money isn't everything.

Isn't there a bus they can ride?

Seriously. You say you are adequately insured, but if you are involved in an accident with someone else's children in the car, are you really adequately insured?

You might want to consult with a lawyer before agreeing to this, to see exactly what your liability is. (Damage to your vehicle would be the least of it.) You say you don't know the mother very well. I hate to be a cynic, but do you know for sure she won't sue your ass some day?

I think it's kind of nerve-y to ask someone else to be your kids' bus driver.

[Edited 8/18/14 10:32am]

Genesia said:

Isn't there a bus they can ride?

Seriously. You say you are adequately insured, but if you are involved in an accident with someone else's children in the car, are you really adequately insured?

You might want to consult with a lawyer before agreeing to this, to see exactly what your liability is. (Damage to your vehicle would be the least of it.) You say you don't know the mother very well. I hate to be a cynic, but do you know for sure she won't sue your ass some day?

I think it's kind of nerve-y to ask someone else to be your kids' bus driver.

[Edited 8/18/14 10:32am]

That could be your first huge RED FLAG.

The other RED FLAG is that you don't know the mom well.

I think driving kids of close friends is normal, driving kids of not close friends is not normal and opens the door to trouble.

I think it's kind of nerve-y to ask someone else to be your kids' bus driver.

I agree. I have some great friends and do favors for them all the time, but there is not one for whom I would agree to a daily task involving their children. If you don't know this person that well, you don't owe them a favor that big.

In that case, you could do it for the money if the money was worthwhile to you. Definitely do look into the insurance aspect. People are driving for Uber without proper insurance all the time, but that doesn't mean they're protected.

But I would wonder why the kids don't take the bus too. Are there disciplinary issues where they can't take the bus? Or would they just prefer to have a personal chauffeur (in which case, feel free to ask for more money. That's not doing them a favor, it's spoiling them.)

You don't owe your neighbor anything more than neighborly courtesy. If you do this, make sure it benefits you.

[Edited 8/18/14 11:45am]

It should go without saying, but here it is: if you don't have it in writing, be prepared to be disappointed.

It's not fair that you have to worry about that, but people are people. Hopefully, this is a win-win situation, but it's so easy for a complaint to be filed nowadays, things like abuse etc. All it would take is word of mouth, you know.

It's like, I'd want to believe that good can come of this, but not so much to be naive you know.

money and favour aside.. shyra, just don't do it! i did this for somebody once, never again! it was a HUGE mistake. the arrangement only lasted a month..

i used to drive my daughter to school & one of the parents asked if i would let her 2 girls go with us. she offered me money which i refused to take because they were a social case.. i felt sorry for them & i was going that way anyway.

but it wasn't long before the kids were turning up late & making us late for school, i used to find myself waiting with my daughter for them after school. things took a weird turn when the mother got shitty one day when my daughter was ill & i couldn't take them!,, & i gave her decent notice!

some people just can't be helped!

$200 per week

Shyra said:

A neighbor asked me to drive her two girls to school each day and pick them up at the end of the school day. The drive would take about 10-15 minutes from door to door one way a total of 3.6 miles one way or about 7 miles round trip. I drive a Kia Sportage 6 cylinder which gets about 18.5 miles to the gallon. Gas averages around $3.50 a gallon in my area. What do you think would be a fair price to charge her? Should I charge per day, weekly or monthly? Of course I have to take into account the days that there is no school, like holidays and teacher conference days. Opinions please?

i think i would steer clear of this arrangement. not because i am uncharitable, but because a lot could go wrong and you might be left holding the bag sort of thing. insurance issues, licensure, costs/disbursements and the overall hassle factor make this one of those "let's see which bus would take you there" kind of things. if you accept money for doing your neighbor this favor, legally it could backfire on you one day.

Thank you to all who have offered advice. I am really torn now because I can see the disadvantages. I haven't spoken to the mom yet about the arrangements and school starts next Monday. I gave her my phone number and told her to call me when she is ready to discuss arrangements, but I have not heard from her yet. When she first approached me about dong this, I said yes, but after thinking about all the negative possibilities, I will have to get a clear understanding of her expectations. I plan to call my insurance agent to discuss my liability. I agree that you never know how people will react in crisis, and things could go south very quickly if things don't go well. My first thought about the charges was to ask her what she thought would be fair to get an idea of what she's willing to pay or can afford and then negotiate from there. The school is a private Adventist school, so I know she is paying tuition for both of her girls. I believe the reason she doesn't want to use public transportation is that the public bus stop is on a very busy street with no designated crosswalk, and the ages of her girls. One is five or six years old and the older one is about 10 or 11. I can completely understand her not wanting them to take the public bus because it would be very dangerous for them crossing the street to get to the bus stop, and I imagine the school does not employ a private bus service or if it does, she can't afford it or doesn't want to pay the fee, which is probably expensive.

[img:$uid]http://www.seabythecity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Dr.-Evil-One-Million-Dollars.png[/img:$uid]

misleading title !!

JoeTyler said:

misleading title !!

Shyra...make SURE that you have adequate insurance coverage should you decide to go ahead.

If you need to increase it, then factor that into your fee.

An accident is just that - AN ACCIDENT - and heaven forbid anything happens (even if it's not your fault) you want your home/property protected from any lawsuits.

JoeTyler said:

misleading title !!

Joe, I was waiting for you to jump in!

PurpleJedi said:

JoeTyler said:

misleading title !!

Shyra said:

JoeTyler said:

misleading title !!

Joe, I was waiting for you to jump in!

Dauphin said:

Also, something to consider:

Per trip milage = $3.92
Per trip labor = $1.80
Total: $5.72

Daily (two trips) milage = $7.84
Daily (two trips) labor = $3.60

Total: $11.44

Weekly (10 trips) milage = $39.20
Weekly (10 trips) labor = $18.00
Total: $57.20

Monthly (40 trips) milage = $156.80
Monthly (40 trips) labor = $72.00
Total: $228.80


Let's say that you choose to NOT to charge the full Federal recommended amount. That is completely your perogative. Just understand that any discount is going to effect the following categories: immedeate car expenses (gas, insurance), long term car expenses (repair, loss of resell value), and labor.

Consider that the immedate and long term car expenses happen. Eventually, you'll need new tires, new wipers, the car needs to be cleaned out, a check engine light will come on, etc. Some may say "well, that's going to happen anyway," and that is right. However, the Feds take this into account and determine the average costs to accomidate this to the mile. You're dedicating milage to this task that you're looking to be reimbursed for. That's why it's fair to consider the Fed milage rate when determining your price of services.

So really, any discount you offer is going to impact you on the labor side, logically. Let's say you offer to do the job for $150 for a month (40 trips). As you can see, you're not even covering the projected milage reimbursement. You've completely donated your time (10 hours), and you're short on the milage side by 6.80.

Hopefully, you all can work something out. Sometimes, money isn't everything.

Why was this thread not done with this?

Genesia said:

Isn't there a bus they can ride?

Seriously. You say you are adequately insured, but if you are involved in an accident with someone else's children in the car, are you really adequately insured?

You might want to consult with a lawyer before agreeing to this, to see exactly what your liability is. (Damage to your vehicle would be the least of it.) You say you don't know the mother very well. I hate to be a cynic, but do you know for sure she won't sue your ass some day?

I think it's kind of nerve-y to ask someone else to be your kids' bus driver.

[Edited 8/18/14 10:32am]

Exactly. It's not cynicism, it's sell-preservation.

Genesia said:

Isn't there a bus they can ride?

Seriously. You say you are adequately insured, but if you are involved in an accident with someone else's children in the car, are you really adequately insured?

You might want to consult with a lawyer before agreeing to this, to see exactly what your liability is. (Damage to your vehicle would be the least of it.) You say you don't know the mother very well. I hate to be a cynic, but do you know for sure she won't sue your ass some day?

I think it's kind of nerve-y to ask someone else to be your kids' bus driver.

[Edited 8/18/14 10:32am]

I agree with this.

UPDATE

I've driven the girls to school and picked them up for two weeks now and the mom has not contacted me about reimbursement, not nay word. I'm beginning to think she is taking complete advantage of my kindness and it's kind of pissing me off. I was thinking maybe she's waiting until she gets paid to approach me with some form of compensation. I will wait another week, and if I don't hear from her, I will send her a bill using Dauphin's calculations less the labor charges. It just amazes me how some folk will take complete advantage of people's kindness. Is this lack of hometraining or opportunistic behavior? Or is it my fault for not telling her from jump what she should pay? I have to be fair and say that when she first approached me she said, "I'll call you to discuss payment." I said, "Payment? Oh, okay. Let me give you my phone number." Could she have taken that to mean that I would not accept payment and was agreeing to do this out of love?

Personally, I think the details should be established and agreed upon ahead of time (in this case, should have been).

Now that you've started the job without a firm agreement, it kind of puts you in a bargaining position where they have an edge. Mainly because you're being nice and don't want to cause negative energy.

At minimum, at least cover the milage, which is approx $4 a trip. Then add in how much you are comfortable with. I would even consider saying something like this:

"I wasn't sure how much to charge at first, but now that we've done it, here's what I feel I need to charge."

If it all goes well, then yippie. If it's too rich for her taste, then you could (at your discretion) offer a limited discount for the previous services and possibly for a week or two for her to setup new accomidations (I wouldn't take less than milage, which would be VERY generous considering that means donating labor).

Good luck!!!

Shyra said:

UPDATE

I've driven the girls to school and picked them up for two weeks now and the mom has not contacted me about reimbursement, not nay word. I'm beginning to think she is taking complete advantage of my kindness and it's kind of pissing me off. I was thinking maybe she's waiting until she gets paid to approach me with some form of compensation. I will wait another week, and if I don't hear from her, I will send her a bill using Dauphin's calculations less the labor charges. It just amazes me how some folk will take complete advantage of people's kindness. Is this lack of hometraining or opportunistic behavior? Or is it my fault for not telling her from jump what she should pay? I have to be fair and say that when she first approached me she said, "I'll call you to discuss payment." I said, "Payment? Oh, okay. Let me give you my phone number." Could she have taken that to mean that I would not accept payment and was agreeing to do this out of love?

I dubbed it the Madea syndrome. The attitude that every unattached older woman is dying to play grandma to somebody's children.

Yes, you need to get that established as quickly as possible. You've got to be upfront and verbal with your intentions, never ever assume on manners.